Mt. Hood Penstemon

Description:

As you climb, the vegetation becomes more sparse and stunted by the harsh microclimate of Mt. Hood, in Northwest Oregon. The growing season is short, and water is scarce.

At some point, you think you’ve left all the lowland plants behind. Then you see one, clinging tenaciously under a rock, where the rock’s re-radiated heat provides a slightly longer summer, or perhaps in a crevice, where precious water lingers in its rush to the sea.

It is the lucky Penstemon that finds itself both a rock and a crevice!